Brazil's Rousseff names predecessor Lula as chief of staff

BRASILIA, March 16 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been named to President Dilma
Rousseff's cabinet as her chief of staff, the presidential
office said in an emailed statement.

Lula, the leftist former union leader who was president from
2003 to 2010, will be tasked with trying to avoid the
impeachment of his Workers' Party successor amid Brazil's worst
economic recession in a generation.

Lula will take over as chief of staff from Jaques Wagner,
who will assume the new role of cabinet chief. Allied PMDB
lawmaker Mauro Ribeiro Lopes was also appointed civil aviation
minister.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Richard Chang)